


Who I Am

by ShadCat



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clones, Episode Prompto Spoilers, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23120776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadCat/pseuds/ShadCat
Summary: Prompto is an adult clone who has just awakened and meets a younger Verstael Besithia.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum & Verstael Besithia
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Who I Am

**Author's Note:**

> Just the train of thought of what if the clones were conscious when awakened

The first thing he heard was sounds.  
  
The word voices began to form in his mind. He heard voices making muddy sounds. Only after he focused on it for a while his mind did realize those squishy sounds were a language and as more seconds passed, he was able to understand the language slowly. It was like those sounds were slowly gathering in his head.  
  
"It doesn't respond. Shouldn't consciousness begin now? Shouldn't we have awakened a more interchangeable clone as a test first?”  
  
He couldn't assign or describe the voice. He understood the meaning of the words and still could not get them.  
  
"Hmm. We still wait."  
  
This voice!  
  
That voice triggered something in him. It let his mind feel an emotion. Familiarity? Joy?  
  
He couldn't name it. But he wanted to hear it, he wanted to know where that voice came from!  
  
"Oh, it's starting to move."  
  
Did they speak of him? They had to talk about him, because now he was trying to move his body. But he didn't know how to do it. He didn't know how to move the muscles to get them to do what he want. In addition, he slowly felt something on his skin that seemed like a foreign influence. It was damp and dripping. Water? Was it the feeling of being wet? There was also something very cold, firm around his stomach, which kept him firmly on his feet. Metal?  
  
"Interesting. Open your eyes. "  
  
When the voice spoke to him, he just did it. As soon as his mind heard those words, he knew what to do and so he opened his eyes and could see. Oh, the darkness around him hadn't been real? Then something blinded him and he closed his eyes again. The darkness was safer. The dazzling had been light ...? But he wanted to know who...  
  
Very slowly and much more carefully, he opened his eyes again and fought against the glare. Before he saw three figures in front of him. They were wearing all white, bright clothes and looked strange somehow.  
  
Oh, was it the feeling of wonder what he felt? Yes, he was amazed. They were people! Three of them, with different light hair colors and equally different light eyes. Did his hair also have a color? And his eyes? Oh, he wanted to see it! Which of these did the voice belong to?  
  
But something separated him froh them. What was this?  
  
As he concentrated, he managed to move his hand and lay against this thing. He felt that his eyebrows narrowed. His fingers brushed against something in front of him. He could see through it, but it felt very cold and firm. His mind formed the word glass.  
  
What was that on the skin of the back of his hand? They were black lines and dark numbers and letters just as dark. He could see the numbers and his head read those letters, but it didn't make sense in his head why it was on the back of his hand.  
  
One of the people came closer. He had very light blond hair and very light blue and spots on the skin. Freckles. There was a strange grin on his lips when he stood in front of him that only the glass separated them.  
  
"Excellent! As if we had to waste a valuable resource on a test! Of course the first attempt would succeed, after all you are talking to the man who will be completing the Diamond Weapon in a few months! I don't need a second try!"  
  
That was the voice!  
  
When he spoke, the man had turned to the other people and he felt something within him that his mind called excitement. This man here! Something was different about him and he triggered feelings in him!  
  
"Sir, it smiles."  
  
One of the others spoke those words and the blonde turned back to him. His eyes sparkled and his grin only widened. Smile. That was what his mouth was doing, wasn't it? It felt nice.  
  
"Of course he smiles, you idiots. And you call yourself scientists? Even infants are able to mimic behavior like a mirror without knowing their meaning. The behavior which can already be found in chimpanzees confirmed the theory of evolution decades ago again. What stupidly parents call the first smile is just a muscle contraction to emulate the role model. He imitates me."  
  
Was he?  
  
Imitation was copying something without your own emotional level, wasn't it? It didn't feel that way. But he was just too happy to hear this voice speak as to question its meaning.  
  
It was just when the man turned away and went to the other two people, that he started to look around. The room behind them seemed large and there were all kinds of equipment that his head was slowly naming. How do he knew all the words?  
  
Everything seemed so metallic here. He looked around where he was and.. was he in a glass tube? Only the ceiling, the floor, and what his back was against seemed to be made of metal. What was he doing in here? Who had brought him in here?  
  
Yikes! What was that?!  
  
His eyes widened when he saw someone moving in parallel of his movements on the glass. ... a reflection? ... then this was himself?  
  
He looked at himself in amazement. His body was wearing nothing, but he looked just like the voice! His hair was just as blonde and his eyes just as light and he even had the same freckles on his body! Aw, that made him happy! He looked just like the man whose voice could make him experience feelings!  
  
The smile on his face grew lighter and he thought it looked pretty. A smile was pretty.  
  
"Opens the capsule. Let him out."  
  
The blond man's words could be heard, but he was too busy looking at his own reflection. At least until it suddenly disappeared!  
  
Was this the feeling of beeing scared?  
  
He felt horror when the glass suddenly broke apart and chilled air over his wet, naked body. He shivered and his eyes widened as he felt goose bumps on his body. Yes, this feeling had to be fear. Even if he didn't know what triggered this fear in him.  
  
The metal buckle around his belly opened with a sound and he looked down on it, startled. Suddenly he had to stand on his own. His heart beat faster when he looked at the people in front of him and nothing separated them anymore.  
  
The blond man was still approaching with a grin and held out his hand in his direction.  
  
"Well, come here my creation."  
  
His creation. He? Was he a creation?  
  
At his words the smile returned on his face as he really wanted to go to the man. How did that work? His mind knew how to do it, but his body didn't know how to do those movements. So he first watched the other people in the background. Hm, that was all? He just had to move his legs, didn't he? That seemed easy enough.  
  
He walked slowly and carefully out of what the man had called a capsule. He held onto the glass with his hands and felt his legs shake. Was he doing it right? Did you walk like this? At least it seemed to be working.  
  
His bare feet hit the ice-cold metal floor and it was really cold, but the blonde man was still too far away. So he let go of the capsule.  
  
Thereupon he managed two steps before he could no longer stand up. Balance, as it was called. A surprised sound came from his lips as he fell forward.  
  
Then he grimaced in shock when he fell on his knees and hands and he felt something new. Pain! It was uncomfortable and he didn't want to feel it anymore!  
  
And the floor was so cold!  
  
Unsettled and afraid again, he looked up at the voice, which no longer grinned at him. The latter had lost this expression and was now looking at it with a new one expression he did not know. The eyes were narrowed slightly and he looked thoughtful? Or was it a disappointment?  
  
"Hmmm. The physical reaction is natural. After all, the other clones carry exoskeletons as soon as we release them from the capsules, which are tuned to the natural functions of the body.”  
  
The other clones?  
  
He blinked up at the man. He was a clone?  
  
A clone was a living copy of an already existing living being, with exactly the same DNA and the same physical conditions.  
  
He was a copy?  
  
Then the man crouched in front of him so they could look at each other again. He felt nervous around him! But at the same time he was also happy. It was strange! His mouth was a bit open as he looked at him now he was so close and he examined everything of his body and appearance. Was he his clone?  
  
The man lifted his chin with something called a ballpoint pen and looked him straight in the eye. All he could do was return his gaze before the voice pulled something out of the breast pocket of his white clothes with his other hand. He pressed on it and a dazzling white light came towards him. He winced in shock, but the man shone both times in his eyes before he looked more satisfied and put the flashlight away.  
  
"Do you understand me?"  
  
Did he understand him? Did he mean his words? He was silent for a while because he didn't know how to answer.  
  
"Sir, we have the same understanding of language in this series of experiments as in the MTs for command execution! Even more pronounced to understand technical terms straight away!"  
  
The other man's voice sounded the way he had felt before. Scared. What was he afraid of? Of the blonde man?  
  
The blond man said nothing, but kept looking into his eyes. Maybe he could see the confusion in it.  
  
"It's enough if you nod or shake your head. So let me repeat: Can you understand the words which I speak? Because I have absolutely no time to teach you language like an infant."  
  
Nod! He could nod!  
  
He nodded, excited, still kneeling on the floor, whereupon the blond man returned the nod contentedly. Oh, he had made him happy! That pleased him!  
  
The man got up again and said something to the other people, whom he no longer listened to. He wanted to get up too! How did that work? He tried to pull himself off the floor and stand on his feet. His muscles just had to follow the picture in his head! He should be able to do that!  
  
The next moment there were two hands under his shoulders that pulled him to his feet. They belonged to one of the other people, who was now holding him upright and rescuing his hair from the moisture with something fluffy, while the other person was holding white clothes. He watched in astonishment as they wrapped him in the white coat and then raised his feet to put his bare feet in what he recognized as shoes.  
  
Oh, it was warm! It felt nice to wear clothes and to be dry! So much warmer and more comfortable! Was he allowed to keep that? As the people let go of him, it was easier for him to stand. Had his muscles got used to following his brain's instructions? That would be great.  
  
The look of his bright blue eyes stuck to the voice, which wrote something with a practiced grip on a clipboard. Should he still come to this one?  
  
He watched the event in silence until the blond man turned back to him. This one lowered the pen and came closer. He didn't grin this time, but he didn't look at him maliciously either. That's why he smiled at him. He remembered that it looked pretty.  
  
"Well, let me tell you why you exist. My name is Verstael Besithia, the greatest living genius of the time. Well, and I created you.”  
  
Verstael Besithia. The man had a name. Did he have a name too? Did everyone have a name here? And he had created him? Had he created the other people here too? He cocked his head questioningly and looked at him. But a genius! A genius had created him! That had to be good, didn't it?  
  
How did speaking work? He would like to speak too!  
  
"You are N-iP01357, a clone I made from my blood."  
  
From his blood? Oh! That was why he was so similar to Verstael! He was truly his clone! It had to be good too, he was sure of that. Otherwise this man would not have such an effect on him!  
  
The confusion disappeared from his face and he smiled again. That's why Verstael's voice felt so familiar! He was his living copy, this seemed logical to him.  
  
Then he grinned again and the clone was happy about the grin.  
  
"Of course we cannot let you address N-iP01357. We chose the name Prompto for you. When someone calls to you by this name, you react. Did you understand?"  
The clone nodded again. He had a name! Oh! It was exciting and he liked it! He couldn't wait until someone calls him with the name Prompto!  
  
Verstael looked at him thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.  
  
"Since you are my clone, you shouldn't have any difficulty recording multiple pieces of information at once. So: everyone here knows that you are a clone. But it is important that as soon as you can speak, you only give this information to the people I allow you to do. You shouldn't mention to anyone else to be a clone. Did you understand that, Prompto?"  
  
Oh, the voice sounded stern! Prompto nodded instantly and felt his hands run over the clothes he was wearing. He would do exactly what Verstael said!  
  
He had created him! So he just had to do something he wanted from him. Aw, the clothes were so nice and warm.  
  
Prompto wanted to speak too! In practice, he began to move the tongue in his mouth and open and close his lips. When Verstael turned and took a few steps, he waved after him and Prompto followed. His steps were uncertain, but it was working now! He had gotten used of walking alone! It was a great feeling!  
  
Verstael wrote something on the clipboard again and watched him walk. Apparently that was the whole point of why they were moving.  
  
"If someone who is not one of the people I allow you to speak to asks you who you are or why you are suddenly here, you answer you are my son. Prompto Argentum. I'll confirm it and the questions should be answered."  
  
Verstael spoke his words absently and Prompto memorized each of them. Did he even have two names? Oh! That was significant! He liked that! But it confused him.  
  
A son had a different definition than a clone. A son was the male, biological descendant of a man or woman, which arose during sexual intercourse. But wasn't he a clone?  
  
"S-Son?"  
  
Promptos voice was shaky, but it sounded just like the man's! Just as familiar and beautiful! Aw, he wanted to talk a lot more! That was nice!  
  
However, Verstael did not seem to particularly like his first spoken word. The latter stopped immediately and turned to him so instantly Prompto almost ran into him. Oh! Why did he look at him so sternly? Did he do something wrong...?!  
  
"You are a clone,Prompto! Not more. You are not my son and I am not your father. You are my clone and I am your creator. But, we're not going to tell everyone this information and you have no right to choose who to tell it. You will lie in public. You will lie and claim you are my son even if you are not. Did you finally understand it?!"  
  
The question of understanding sounded much more serious and dangerous than before. Prompto opened his mouth and felt terror inside him. He didn't know what to feel, he couldn't quite relate the information to what his emotions meant. But suddenly he felt threatened.  
  
Prompto nodded eagerly and clawed his hands into his clothes while he looked at Verstael with wide eyes. The latter watched his facial expressions for a second before he glanced back at the clipboard.  
  
"Don't think you can escape speaking and return to nodding after showing me you can speak. We have no time for gimmicks or loafers. There is a lot you have to learn in a short time and I will make sure that you are ready for your mission. You will not disappoint me."  
  
Oh, so he had a mission! Although Verstael didn't see it, Prompto nodded again. No, he didn't want to disappoint his creator! He would do everything right and do what he told him to do!  
  
"I-I w-won't!"  
  
Prompto eagerly spoke with a stumbling tongue and Verstael looked at him more contentedly. Aw, he liked it! Prompto wanted to get this look much more often.


End file.
